Pop filter / windscreen
The mesh screen or foam cover in front of a mic that stops P and B blasts from punching the capsule.
See it
What it is
Both fight moving air, not sound. A pop filter is the nylon or metal mesh disc on a gooseneck that sits between your mouth and the capsule, breaking up the burst of air a 'P' or 'B' throws (the plosive) before it slams the diaphragm. A windscreen is the foam sleeve that slips over the mic itself, and its outdoor cousin is the furry 'dead cat' on a boom or shotgun mic.
Reach for one on any close-miced voice: podcast, voiceover booth, streaming, singing. Rule of thumb indoors: filter about 3 to 4 inches off the capsule, mouth a loose fist behind that, mic angled slightly off-axis so the worst of the air passes by rather than into it. Outdoors, foam handles a breeze, fur handles actual wind.
Gotcha: people expect it to do everything. It does not reduce room echo, hiss, or the boomy proximity effect from getting too close, and thick cheap foam eats high end and leaves the voice dull. It is a blast shield with a useful side effect: it keeps a talker from drifting into the mic.
Ask AI for it
Give me a plosive-proof vocal recording setup for a cardioid condenser in an untreated room: place a dual-layer nylon pop filter 3 to 4 inches from the capsule with the mouth one fist behind it, angle the mic 15 degrees off-axis from the mouth, and specify when to swap to a foam windscreen or a furry cover instead. Then give me the post chain to catch what leaks through: high-pass filter at 80 Hz, plus a short list of moves for repairing a plosive that still made it to tape.